Month: November 2019

The Gospel of John # 28 Jesus public ministry comes to an end

Posted on by revdotdavid

John 12: 20-50

Jesus was in Jerusalem for Passover week and makes His final call (possibly on the Wednesday) to the people to believe in Him

20-22

These ‘Greeks’ were non-Jewish/Gentiles who were converts to Judaism; in the Book of Acts they are called ‘God fearers’ – they were not saved
Acts 10: 22, Acts 17: 4, 17

These ‘Greeks’ who were asking to see Jesus are an early sign that God was now drawing the Gentiles to Christ
John 10: 16, John 11: 52

23-28a

Jesus said that the time of His death on the cross was very soon and would produce a ‘plentiful harvest of new lives’

He went on to say that that those who believed in Him must reject this unbelieving ‘World’, and follow Him

Look again at verse 27a ‘My soul is deeply troubled’

The prospect of His own imminent death on the cross must have been a horrifying thought to Jesus

Humanly speaking Jesus could pray, 27b ‘Father save Me from this hour’

but, as God Himself in the flesh, He prayed 27c ‘this is the very reason I came! Father, bring glory to Your name’

Isaiah 52: 13 – 53: 12; John 3: 14; 4: 34; 5: 30; 6: 38; 8: 28; 10: 17-18; John 18: 37;
Romans 5: 8-10

28b-30

In response to Jesus prayer, the Father answered Him from Heaven

Jesus said the voice of God was not for His benefit, but for the benefit of those who believed in Him

Those there who did not believe in Him, said, ‘it was thunder’, and others said, ‘an angel had spoken to Him’

Application: As a Pastor with 32 years experience, I am often perplexed how some people are easily influenced by the opinions of unbelievers about the things of God

Here, unbelievers are offering their opinions about the Father speaking from Heaven

They even denied that God spoke! ‘it was thunder’, ‘it was an angel’

Testimony: not for public record

Dear friends, please listen to me, if you want to know God and live like a true follower of Jesus:

READ YOUR BIBLE EVERY DAY, PRAY EVERY DAY, TALK TO YOUR MENTOR EVERY WEEK, BE IN CHURCH EVERY SUNDAY, and REJECT THE UNBELIEVING ‘WORLD’; then, you will recognize the voice of God – and then you will know the truth!
John 8: 42-45

31-33

32 When Jesus said ‘everyone’, He did not mean that the unbelieving ‘World’ would be saved

The ‘everyone’ that Jesus refers to, are those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life; written ‘before the world was made’ Revelation 17: 8

34

The unbelieving crowd are still ignorant about Jesus

35-36, 44-50
Jesus makes His final and urgent call to the people to believe in Him

37

‘But despite all the miraculous signs Jesus had done, most of the people still did not believe in Him’.

This is incredible, isn’t it?! How can people still NOT believe in Jesus when they had met Him face-to-face, heard Him speak the truth, and seen Him perform miraculous signs?

John, the Author gives us the answer – God is sovereign in our salvation

38-41 ‘the people couldn’t believe’

But, thank God!
42b ‘many people did believe in Him’

The Apostle Paul said this:

1 Timothy 1: 16 ‘I was given mercy so that in me Jesus Christ could show that He has patience without limit. Christ showed His patience with me, the worst of all sinners. He wanted me to be an example for those who would believe in Him and have eternal life’.

How does that make you feel? For me: A Life of service and worship

 

The Gospel of John #27 Jesus triumphal entry into Jerusalem

Posted on by revdotdavid

Guest Contributor: sister Carmen Gasilao

John 12:12-19

It is so important to follow Jesus for the right reasons. Today we see a crowd shouting “Hosanna” because they were hoping for a political king who could lead a military victory against Rome and provide prosperity for their nation. Within a week their cries will turn to “Crucify Him”. This event is recorded in all four Gospels. Up until now, Jesus has mostly kept veiled His identity as Messiah. Here Jesus deliberately stages a public demonstration to proclaim Himself as the Messiah at the most widely attended feast – the Passover.

John 12:12-19 12 The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city. A large crowd of Passover visitors 13 took palm branches and went down the road to meet him. They shouted, “Praise God! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hail to the King of Israel!”
14 Jesus found a young donkey and rode on it, fulfilling the prophecy that said:
15 “Don’t be afraid, people of Jerusalem. Look, your King is coming,
riding on a donkey’s colt.”
16 His disciples didn’t understand at the time that this was a fulfilment of prophecy. But after Jesus entered into his glory, they remembered what had happened and realized that these things had been written about him.
17 Many in the crowd had seen Jesus call Lazarus from the tomb, raising him from the dead, and they were telling others about it. 18 That was the reason so many went out to meet him—because they had heard about this miraculous sign. 19 Then the Pharisees said to each other “There’s nothing we can do. Look, everyone has gone after him!”

In the account found in Luke 19:28-44 – When the Pharisees in the crowd objected to the people’s shouts, Jesus affirmed them by saying (Luke 19:40) Ï tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

We have more advantages than the disciples. Why? Because while they have Jesus with them in the flesh – there were many things they were not able to fully comprehend … not until Jesus resurrected and the Holy Spirit came. We have the entire Book with us to reveal to us the whole picture and the purpose for this entry into Jerusalem, we are aware of the tremendous suffering that was going to occur and the glorious ending of all things.

This event is also known to the Christian world as Palm Sunday and it signals the week-long events that lead to Jesus death and Resurrection which is also called Holy week or the Passion week.

The question we want to answer today is: Why do you follow Jesus?

Make sure that you follow Jesus because of who He is, not because of what you think He might provide for you.

Don’t follow Jesus only because of the temporal benefits you think He might provide for you.

Palm branches were a symbol of Jewish nationalism and of victory over their enemies. “Hosanna” meant “Save now!” It may have been a prayer or just a cry of praise to God. This group thought of the temporal benefits He could provide for them and that He would usher then to an age of peace and prosperity.

Temporal things are fleeting, short-lived, earthly. These may include: food, clothing, houses, relationships, careers and practically any idol that we cling to other than God. If Jesus only wanted to gather people in a certain location to provide for their wants, keep them healthy and free from foreign oppression – He could have done so. But obviously, this was not His intention at all.

Application: Your faith will be shaken, perhaps even destroyed if you follow Jesus because of what you think He will give you like relief from all your problems, that you will gain financial prosperity, good health and other temporal benefits. What if you contract a serious illness, suffer a severe financial loss, your marriage isn’t the ideal romance story you thought He would give you or your children don’t follow the Lord or turn against you?

In Hebrews 11:35b-39 God did not give dramatic victories to His people – they were mocked, scourged, imprisoned and martyred. The reward in NOT IN THIS LIFE, but in the life to come. 35bBut others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised.

The “health and wealth teaching” is a heresy that leads people into disappointment and destruction of their faith when things don’t turn out as the false teachers said they would.

We shouldn’t follow Jesus because we think He will give us all the goodies we want in this life.

Why should we follow Jesus?

Follow Jesus because of who He is: God’s Messiah and King.

Follow Jesus because He faithfully fulfilled prophecy. He is the fulfillment of prophecy. John mentions two Old Testament prophecies that Jesus fulfilled.
Psalm 118:25-26, Zechariah 9:9

John shows Jesus in His first coming as a humble King, offering Himself as the sacrifice for our sins.

From birth to death, Jesus lived a lowly and simple life. He was never after popularity and though He did many miracles in response to the peoples’ needs – there was more to the just the physical and emotional healing that He responded to. Then and now – Jesus is telling us that His kingdom is not of this world. (John 18:36)

We know that Jesus’ mission is altogether different.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus. 6 He gave his life to purchase freedom for everyone. This is the message God gave to the world at just the right time.

Follow Jesus because His love is incomparable. He is love. It was beyond all the evil that plotted against Him. In Luke’s account this is what is written: 41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep.42“How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace.
This is the ungrateful crowd who will shout “Crucify Him” and here was Jesus weeping for them.

Romans 5:6-8 says: 6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

1 John 4: 9-10  God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
John 15:13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

“The Gospel is the only story where the hero dies for the villain.”

Follow Jesus because He is in control over His circumstances under the Father’s timetable. He is the Sovereign Lord.

Jesus deliberately arranged for the colt to ride on. Six days before the Passover, Jesus knew that His hour had come to offer Himself as the Lamb of God (12:23) he openly presented Himself as the Jewish Messiah even though He knew that the crowds had a mistaken view.

Jesus was in control even over His own death. He did not die as a helpless victim, but as the willing sacrifice for our sins.

John 10: 18 No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.

So: Make sure that you follow Him because of who He us, not because of what you think He might provide for you in this life.

If your faith rests on the person of Jesus Christ as revealed in Scripture, then you will not be shaken whether you go to prison or are blessed with prosperity. You may suffer terrible health and die young or you may enjoy good health. Your faith does not rest on happy circumstances but in who Jesus is and on what He has promised His children throughout eternity. He does provide forgiveness of sins and eternal life to all who believe in Him. But with that gift may come hardship and persecution.

One final thought.

You can oppose Jesus and succeed in the short term, but in the long run you will lose and He will win!

After a week, the JRL would have thought that they finally got rid of Jesus by His death on the cross. But after three days Jesus resurrected and now seats at the right hand of the Father.

Revelation 7:9-10 John mentions another scene where palm branches were used by multitudes. 9 After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting with a great roar, “Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”

That is the ultimate triumphal entry of the Lamb of God!

It is a foolish thing to oppose and rebel against Jesus. He is the Victor…side with Him and submit to His rulership!

Later, in Rev 19:11, John sees Jesus coming again on a white horse to judge and wage war. 11 Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse was standing there. Its rider was named Faithful and True, for he judges fairly and wages a righteous war.

CONCLUSION: Follow Jesus because He is God’s anointed One, the rightful King over every heart and life. He died for your sins, conquered death and is coming back in power and glory to reign over all…and He did it all because He loves you!

The Gospel Of John # 26 Mary anoints Jesus with expensive perfume

Posted on by revdotdavid

John 12: 1-11

1
Jesus had been staying in Ephraim (John 11: 54) and was returning to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration the next week

On His way to Jerusalem Jesus arrives in Bethany, the hometown of Lazarus (on the Friday night)

2a
‘a dinner was prepared in Jesus honor’ at the home of a man called Simon
Matthew 26: 6; Mark 14: 3;

A lot of people came to the dinner that night in Bethany

2-3 we know that Martha, Mary and Lazarus were there
4-6 we know that Judas and the disciples were there
9 there was also a large crowd of people there too
10-11 and the Jewish Religious Leaders were there

Among all the people that came to have dinner with Jesus that night, some of them believed in Jesus, and some of them didn’t believe, and rejected Him

The question is: how do you know if someone believes in Jesus or doesn’t believe in Jesus?

Let’s find out!

2b ‘Martha served’
Martha believed in Jesus and expressed it by serving the Lord

It was Martha who many months earlier had for the first time met Jesus and welcomed Him into her home, and it was through Martha’s hospitality that Jesus met Mary and their brother Lazarus
Luke 10: 38-42

Martha teaches us that our belief in Jesus is expressed as we serve the Lord
Romans 12: 11; Galatians 5: 13; Colossians 3: 24; Hebrews 9: 14

3 ‘Mary…she anointed Jesus’
Mary believed in Jesus and expressed it by worshipping the Lord

The perfume Mary used to anoint the Lord in worship was very valuable – it was equal, as Judas rightly said (5) to ‘a year’s wages’

In today’s currency, that is a lot of money!

If you earned that amount of money would you spend it all, at one time, and use it to worship the Lord – Mary did?!
Mary teaches us that our belief in Jesus is expressed as we worship the Lord
2 Samuel 24: 24 ‘I will not offer to the Lord my God sacrifices that have cost me nothing’

4-8 ‘Judas Iscariot…since he was in charge of the disciple’s money, he often stole some for himself’
Judas didn’t believe in Jesus and expressed it through his self-interest

Judas was outraged that Mary had wasted the expensive perfume on worshipping the Lord, saying he wanted it sold and the money given to the poor

2 other Gospels say that some of the other disciples even agreed with Judas and joined him in his ‘fake’ protest
Matthew 26: 8-9; Mark 14: 4-5

Judas self-interest failed him this time, but later it pays off for him as he betrays Jesus to the Jewish Religious Leaders and receives a payment of 30 silver coins
Matthew 26: 15

Judas teaches us nothing, he was a liar and a thief, and Jesus said that ‘it would be better for him if he had not been born’
Matthew 26: 24

But the other disciples do teach us something; they teach us that we need to reject the influence of self-interest which is the # 1 value of this unbelieving ‘world’

9 ‘all the people…flocked to see Him and also to see Lazarus’
The crowd didn’t believe in Jesus and expressed it in their perpetual craving for that which was popular

Jesus was popular with the crowd when He was feeding them, healing them, delivering them from demons and raising their dead back to life

Jesus was so popular with the crowd that the next day when He arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover celebration, they welcomed Him with shouts of ‘Hosanna to the King of Israel’ John 12: 12-13

But on the following Friday, when He failed to deliver on their expectations, they began screaming for His execution John 19: 15

The crowds teach us that salvation is not in the popularity of Jesus meeting our expectations, but in the unpopularity of Jesus death for us on the cross!

10-11 ‘the leading priests decided to kill Lazarus, too’
The Jewish Religious Leaders didn’t believe in Jesus and expressed it in their violent intentions

The J.R.L’s were already plotting to kill Jesus and now they were adding Lazarus to their ‘hit list’

The J.R.L’s teach us that human nature is evil and is expressed in its violent intentions – even when it hides itself under the disguise of religious devotion

Genesis 6: 5 ‘The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and He saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil’

So, how about you?

Have you identified yourself amongst all the people that came to dinner that night with Jesus?

Do you believe in Jesus and have received Him as Savior and Lord – and, is your belief in Jesus expressed in a dynamic life of service (like Martha) and worship (like Mary)?

Or, have you rejected Jesus and your unbelief is expressed in self-interest (like Judas), a perpetual craving for what is popular (like the crowd), and trusting in your own self-righteous religious devotion (like the J.R.L’s)?

The Gospel of John # 25 The Jewish Religious Leaders plan to kill Jesus

Posted on by revdotdavid

John 11: 45-57

45-46
Following the resurrection of Lazarus, 45 ‘many of the people…believed in Jesus’, but some of the people did not believe 46

Wouldn’t you think, that ALL the people there, seeing Jesus perform this miracle, would believe in Jesus?

No, some believed, and some did not

We make the same mistake today; we think, if people could just see a miracle like this, surely, they would ALL believe – right?

No, some will believe, and some will not

In fact, some of those who do not believe, will become even more hardened in their unbelief against Jesus

Some of the people who didn’t believe in Jesus, even after seeing Him perform this incredible miracle, went and reported Jesus to the J.R.L! 46
Compare: John 5: 1-15

This is very important to remember: people will only believe if they are in receipt of the saving Grace of God!

Ephesians 2: 8 ‘God saved you by His Grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God’

John 6: 44 ‘For no one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them to Me, and at the last day I will raise them up’

47-48
Now, the J.R.L come together for a meeting to discuss what to do about Jesus, because they believed that Jesus could become a national security risk

In their thinking, the Roman Emperor could consider Jesus to be a political rival and, as they said, ‘then the Roman army will come and destroy both our Temple and our nation’

49-50
Then, the high priest Caiaphas, suggested that it would be better for the Nation that Jesus should die

John comments that Caiaphas did not say this on his own, but that God gave him the words to say (‘he was led ((by God)) to prophesy’)
51-52

This may be somewhat surprising to you; God even works through His enemies to achieve His will

Acts 4: 27b-28 ‘the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were all united against Jesus, Your holy servant, whom You anointed. 28 But everything they did was determined beforehand according to Your will’

You see, Jesus death upon the cross was NOT decided by the J.R.L, or the Romans; Jesus death upon the cross was decided by the will of God, from eternity past!
Genesis 3: 15b, Isaiah 53, Luke 22: 42, Ephesians 1: 4

John went on to say that Jesus would die, not only for the Nation of Israel, but for ‘all the children of God scattered around the World’
52

Please note this: John called the redeemed, ‘the children of God’, BEFORE Christ died for us on the cross!

God is Sovereign in our salvation!
Romans 9: 18, 22-27

Let’s be reminded again, some will believe and be saved, and some will not – and, that belief that saves us is a gift from God

Ephesians 2: 8 ‘God saved you by His grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God’

53-54
The J.R.L are more determined than before to kill Jesus, so Jesus finishes His public ministry with the people of Jerusalem and re-locates, with His disciples, to an isolated town near the wilderness, called Ephraim (Ephron 2 Chronicles 13: 9)

55-57
Jesus only stayed in Ephraim for a short time, before returning to Bethany and going on to Jerusalem for His final Passover

The J.R.L were waiting for Him to arrive so that they could arrest Him and have Him executed

The events of John 11 happen about 1 week before Jesus arrives in Jerusalem for Passover

Upon His arrival in Jerusalem, on what we call Palm Sunday, crowds of people welcomed Him
John 12: 12-13

But, just a few days later, on what we call Good Friday, a different crowd of people succeed in their demand to have Jesus crucified on the cross
John 18: 40

Many people believed in Jesus, some did not

So, how will YOU respond to Jesus

Like some of the people, will you harden your heart against Him and reject Him?

Or, like many of the people, will you accept Jesus and receive God’s Grace to be saved